Oct 30 2010
A recent report from the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) indicates that the Ontario has reached its all time hourly wind generation output on October 26. Around 9.00 PM on that date the state generated 1,056 MW of power. During the entire part of the day the power produced from wind energy has met more than 5% of the state’s total power demand.
The country currently boasts 3,549 MW of wind power generating capacity and Ontario leads the other provinces with a total wind energy installed capability of 1,248 MW amounting to one third of the total wind energy production. The other provinces that lead the table include Quebec and Alberta with 663 MW and 656 MW respectively, managing one third of the total power. The balance of one third wind power generation is made by the other of the seven provinces of Canada. The country is estimated to have installed around 754 MW of new wind generation capacity in the year 2010 with an estimated investment of over $1.7 billion. With the addition of new power generation, the total wind generating capacity of the country will reach 4,073 MW, which in turn can meet the energy requirements of over 1.4 million homes in a year. In the last six years wind energy generation in Canada has witnessed over 10 fold growth and the government is constantly on the lookout for means to meet the growing energy demand and lessen the impact on ecology while encouraging rural growth and economic development.
Robert Hornung, President of Canadian Wind Energy Association, said that wind energy increasingly contributes for the improvement in power supply of Ontario while generating job opportunities and economic development among the service providers, rural municipal governments, land owners and manufacturers in Canada. He anticipates that the wind energy generation will grow rapidly in Canada and will triple the power generation over the next five years.